Last month we saw the first appreciable snow on the ground since the Carnegie reopened! Precipitation has not always been a rare, or welcome, visitor to this area...consider the following:

• The magnificent rain which fell Wednesday night and yesterday has put a splendid season in the ground and will be of vast advantage to the farming interests of this section. The electric storm during the early hours yesterday morning was very heavy. At one [sic] a. m., lightning struck Mr. R. H. Kirk's barn and the building with fifteen bushels of corn was burned. Mr. Kirk drove his cow from the building and saved his saddles and harness. His loss was $30 with no insurance. A fire alarm was sounded and the confusion was general for some time. The lights were cut off on account of the storm. Eagle 12 February 1898
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• During the rainstorm this morning the courthouse was heavily charged with electricity and the whole force was shocked. Electricity crackled and popped throughout the entire building and played over all metal work. County Judge J. T. Maloney, County Clerk Will Higgs and T. C. Nunn were in one of the vaults and the electricity was blinding. Eagle of 10 April 1938 (citing the 1913 paper)
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• [The unprecedented rain fall of Tuesday night, Wednesday, and especially of Wednesday night, continuing in torrents until late in the morning yesterday has produced a varietable [sic] flood in this section. For hours the precipitation was something terrific and the face of the whole earth was covered, the water courses being flooded beyond their capacity and inadequate to carry off the water as fast as it fell. North bound passenger train No. 3, due here at 2:07 yesterday morning, reached the city about 3 o'clock after great difficulty on account of damage to the track from the flood between here and Wellborn. Very slow and careful running over dangerous places was all that enabled the engineer to get this far, and train was laid out here all day yesterday and last night.] The first part this column was microfilmed in a folded position-the [] portion is from the original article with the same format and sentence omissions as in the 1924 column. June 30, 1899

I'll end with an odd statement from the 1925 eagle:

• A blizzard accompanied by a light fall of snow, the first of the season, characterized Sunday night. Eagle, 29 January 1925

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Nancy McCraw Ross, Carnegie Librarian (3/6/2010)

For questions or concerns, contact Nan Ross.

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